Redneck's Wife

I always suspected it...

2008-11-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

Economic ramblings inspired by this election

2008-11-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

Well, there has been some discussion with my friends on Facebook about economics recently, and some consternation among some that I am not wild about Obama. So here is my response to one of them (Matt) specifically. I posted it here because it's too long to go in the comment thread there. To see the previous discussion, you can go to my Facebook page. Not sure how to link that from here, but look for Samia Perkins.

Okay, so first off, that’s great that you are going to do more study on this. I’d like to hear what you learn, and how it influences your perspective. However, I don’t think you need to have a degree in economics or to do special study in order to have a discussion about these issues. We have a family budget and run our own businesses. That gives quite enough of an education to understand basic economics.

So about small businesses. The majority of small businesses in this country are not considered small by their earnings, but by their employee base. Obama said in the debates that 95% of small businesses would not be subject to the tax increase, but if they are sole proprietorships, the gross income of the business is taxed as the gross income of the proprietor. This was the case with the guitar shop until a few years ago. So some, possibly many businesses could be subject to the tax increase. Yes, they may be able to avoid this by incorporating, but that just furthers the point. If taxes are prohibitive, people will do whatever they can to avoid paying them. If there is a loophole, they will find it.

Another point on tax increases: There have been 3 major cuts in the 20th century, Calvin Coolidge, after WWI was over, cut spending back to pre war levels; JFK; and Reagan. All of these led to prosperity in the country, and actual increases in IRS revenue. This is actually called the Laffer curve: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

There are several reasons for this. Business owners provide jobs, and if revenue is cut, they will cut their employee base, or cut wages, so either more people are dependent on unemployment (taking govt money), or they are not paying as much in taxes.

Once a top income earner has more money, they will invest in business, grow their employee base, or give employees raises, both of these increasing govt revenue. Disposable income is also spent on various things that also support the economy, home improvement, luxuries ( hey, anyone want a custom ordered guitar? How about an amp? Guitar lessons for your kid), etc…

Government gets some of that, too, via sales taxes, and then taxing the earnings of the companies that people are buying from.

If taxes go up, people will have to cut back some spending to make up for that, so maybe they will decide not to give their kids lessons, or not buy that guitar, or not do that landscaping project. Or maybe not write that check to a charity.
If you punish an activity, it will decrease. Raising taxes is in some ways punishing innovation and removing the impetus to spend.

So what does it cost a millionaire to get to that point? They worked hard and took risks to get there, so why should the government take more of what they earn? Why would you put in the work and the risk unless it will benefit you?

I mean, I am a good example. I don’t make anywhere near $250K, but I am an independent contractor. So I have to pay my own percentage of taxes, along with what an employer would pay. So I will pay anywhere from 30 to 33% of my income in taxes. And I am a working mom with 2 kids, just barely getting by, living paycheck to paycheck. And I work my a** off, and pay for my own health insurance. So why should I have to pay so much to the government?

If electing Obama is about fairness, then here is a fair proposal: decide an income level that is tax exempt, maybe $25,000, could be more or less. Then everyone else is taxed at a flat rate, maybe 15 to 18%. This would be fair to everyone, and would really stimulate the economy and lead to prosperity. Actually, many of the former Soviet nations have a system like this.

This is one of the many reasons why I will never support Obama. There are just fundamental differences in our belief systems. We could also get into the fact that he thinks health care is a fundamental right and that the government should provide it for people, but that is a whole other discussion.

If you've read this far, thanks!!

Redneck baby!

2006-09-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

These are so freakin' cute, I just have to share:

Erick was doing yardwork, and this is his "yardwork and camping" hat.

Since it's been a while...

2006-09-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some Cary pictures:

Running a Race, or the joys of working from home

2006-09-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

"Do you ever feel like you're running a race? That you wake up in the morning, and you just start running, and you don't stop until you go to sleep, then wake up and have to do it all over again?"

First of all, I shouldn't even be blogging right now, because I have SO MUCH TO DO!
But I have had all of these posts rattling around in my head, and I want to get at least one of them out.

My daughter Cary is now 10 months old! She is becoming less and less like a baby (quiet, small, relatively clean, lays on the floor), and more and more like a toddler (loud, filthy, constantly hungry, gets into the most amazing places she never went before). The bath at the end of the day used to be just a luxury to help her relax and go to sleep. Now when I plop her in there, she REALLY needs it! Last night she was covered in flour, which was covering dirt and bananas (don't ask).

I'm fortunate enough to have two moms that live near me with babies the same age as Cary. They are also trying to start their own businesses and work from home. It's great to have that support system. One of them, Lisa, is responsible for the quote above.

Before I had Cary, I thought that working from home sounded so great. And it is, in a way. It's great to be home with Cary. It's great to not have a boss, or sit in a cubicle. It's great to like what I do. But it's also very hard. I don't work (much) when Cary is awake, because it just doesn't work, plus, I want to be spending time with her. So I get up early, and work during her naps. And I'm tired.

One crazier than usual morning looked like this:
I was trying to get Cary to take a nap. She was in her room, and NOT going to sleep. This was already the third try, and I was about to give up. I was talking to a really stupid technical support guy from our credit card processing company. You know the kind, they don't know the answer to your question, but they keep you on the phone for an hour before they tell you that. I'm trying to hurry him up, because I have to pick up my mom from the airport. Cary starts crying. Fortunately, Erick is home, and he gets her. He brings her out, and she is still crying. The dumb tech support guy is still talking. The cat throws up on the floor. I clean it up while still on the phone.
I check, and my mom's flight is early.
Cary is crying.
I tell the tech support guy I have to go.
He ignores me and keeps talking.
I really have to go.
I finally get off the phone, and Cary (who is now okay) and I head to the airport. The question I called about is still not resolved. I have people coming over to get haircuts in an hour. I have not showered.

Running a race.

Back yard transformation

2006-07-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

So check this out:

We went from this:

To this:

So stuff still needs to grow in, but, big difference, huh? Look at the size of the zuchinni plants, too! Those suckers are producing like 5 zuchinni a day! Um, why did I plant 4 of them?

Doing the job most Americans won't do, Part Deux

2006-07-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Busting up cement:

Woman, get me a beer!

See all that cement in the second pic? It's all gone now, he broke all of it up with a sledge hammer!

Yup!

Big girl!

2006-07-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

Just look at this:

She is starting to pull herself up! With her hair getting long, and with her standing up, I'm feeling like she's almost a toddler. **SOB**

And here is another one (although I had to rescue her soon after this):

And also - Graham crackers!

Tragedy!

2006-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, not a real one.
Cary and I were out for a walk today, and I had a Netflix I was going to mail. Oh, I should mention, I had her in a wrap, similar to this:

Anyway, she grabbed the envelope, and started chewing on it. I let her, for a while. But then we got to the mailbox. Oh, the horror! I had to take the Netflix away. The screaming, the crying, the tears! Very, very sad.
This separation anxiety is becoming more common. I have to be very careful to have something ready to swap out when I take something away. Hard to beleive that this little baby who used to not notice her toys, or not really care about them, suddenly feels that they are the most fascinating things in the universe!

Long time no blog

2006-07-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

If anyone is still checking my blog, I'm REALLY sorry!
I have just been so consumed with other things lately, that this has not been happening. I have about 40 interesting posts in my head, so maybe one day I will get them up. Meanwhile, here are some random pics of Cary and family.

My brother in law, Josh, with Cary on the 4th of July

Erick, Cary and I

Happy girl!

Grapefruit

2006-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

This was Monday morning at breakfast. I wasn't planning on giving Cary the grapefruit, but she grabbed it. Actually, she grabs anything she can these days, and puts it right in her mouth.
She had lots of fun squishing her hands around inside the grapefruit, and didn't seem to mind the taste. It's an organic toy!

Doing the job most Americans won't do?

2006-05-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

So the price of lettuce would be astronomical if no illegals were here to pick it for us? Fine. I'll grow and pick it myself!
Cary likes it, too!

Lovely Ladies

2006-05-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is from a women's retreat I was on this weekend. It was in the Santa Cruz mountains (kind of), and we had a fabulous time. Cindy, Heidi, and I decided to do facial masks. Aren't we gorgeous?!

First Love?

2006-05-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. The first in what I hope will be a lifelong love of books.
Cary LOVES this book (not only to eat, but to listen to)! It is so much fun to read it to her, she just laughs and laughs. I can't quite get through the whole thing with her yet, but the rhythm of the words and the rhyming is just so entertaining to her.

Her favorite part? Black fish, blue fish, old fish, NEW FISH! On "new fish", I tickle her tummy.

The Asserter or the Romantic?

2006-04-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I did one of these tests, so when I saw it on Katherine's blog, I thought I'd take it. So Katherine and I got the same result (the first time I took it). Interesting. There are only two questions, and I had a hard time answering the first, but the second one was very clear. So I took it again, and answered the first question differently.

First time:

the Asserter
Test finished!

you chose AY - your Enneagram type is EIGHT.

"I must be strong"

Asserters are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.

How to Get Along with Me

Stand up for yourself... and me.

Be confident, strong, and direct.

Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.

Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender,
vulnerable side.

Give me space to be alone.

Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.

I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's
a personal attack.

When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just
the way I am.

What I Like About Being a Eight

being independent and self-reliant

being able to take charge and meet challenges head on

being courageous, straightforward, and honest

getting all the enjoyment I can out of life

supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me

upholding just causes

What's Hard About Being a Eight

overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't
intend to

being restless and impatient with others' incompetence

sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it

never forgetting injuries or injustices

putting too much pressure on myself

getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when
things don't go right

Eights as Children Often

are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit

are sometimes loners

seize control so they won't be controlled

fugure out others' weaknesses

attack verbally or physically when provoked

take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest,
or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings

Eights as Parents

are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted

are sometimes overprotective

can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy

Discover the 9 Types of People

HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

Second time:

the Romantic
Test finished!

you chose BY - your Enneagram type is FOUR.

"I am unique"

Romantics have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.

How to Get Along with Me

Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.

Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value
myself.

Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.

Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy,
I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.

Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!

What I Like About Being a Four

my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep
level

my ability to establish warm connections with people

admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life

my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor

being unique and being seen as unique by others

having aesthetic sensibilities

being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me

What's Hard About Being a Four

experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair

feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved

feeling guilty when I disappoint people

feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me

expecting too much from myself and life

fearing being abandoned

obsessing over resentments

longing for what I don't have

Fours as Children Often

have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in
original games

are very sensitive

feel that they don't fit in

believe they are missing something that other people have

attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.

become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood

feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents'
divorce)

Fours as Parents

help their children become who they really are

support their children's creativity and originality

are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings

are sometimes overly critical or overly protective

are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele

The Enneagram Made Easy

Discover the 9 Types of People

HarperSanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

First Easter

2006-04-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

So today was Cary's first Easter, and we fully planned on going to church. For those of you who don't know, we have not been attending Sunday services for quite some time. Mostly because of Erick's work schedule, he just doesn't want to get up on Sunday mornings. Could I go without him? Yes, but it sucks. I want him to come!!
Anyway, this morning he woke up and did not feel well. I had been so excited to bring Cary to church in her cute little Easter dress, and to see everyone, and worship. So I was dissapointed.
So we didn't go. We got to read Cary the Easter story from a children's book that my friend Sparky gave us, so that was nice. Still, I really wanted to go to church.
We did, however, make it to the family gathering later in the day, and had a lot of fun. So here's Cary's Easter dress:

Here Cary and I are during the egg hunt. We didn't do very well. I was too slow with her on my back, so we only got one egg! It's a very competitive, adult egg hunt. There were 93 eggs this year, some with lottery tickets inside. Prizes for the most eggs include a Target gift card, and Peets coffee. Yeah, so not really your standard egg hunt. Anyway, I sucked at it (our 83 year old Grammy got more eggs than me!), but I still got some See's candy.

4/19/06 Edited to tone down the ranting a little. I've got to be more aware that this is a public blog. I also need to be nicer to my husband! **Sheepish** Sorry Erick!

Chomping like a Champ

2006-04-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'm in awe of how quickly Cary has taken to solid foods. In just a month, she's had:

Rice cereal
Bananas
Pears
Squash
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Parsnips
Potatoes
Apples
Avocado
Cauliflower

And more recently, we've added yogurt, tomatoes (mixed with other things), cheese (also mixed with other things), oatmeal and blueberries!
I've made all her food so far, and I've really enjoyed it. I like to cook, so the creativity I have in cooking gets to carry over to making food for Cary. I've been using Annabel Karmel's book, First Meals, as inspiration, and sort of improvising from there.
I've always liked to make smoothies, so this morning I threw a bananna, some yogurt and some frozen blueberries in the blender, mixed some of it with oatmeal for Cary, and drank the rest myself. Very cool!
At the same time, I get sad when I see how fast she's growing, and I'm constantly amazed by how much she is changing.

Hacking through the Jungle

2006-04-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

What with being pregnant, having a baby, etc, etc, I haven't been keeping up with the yardwork. Then, with all the rain, it became quite a jungle in the back yard. The positive is, our soil is really good, so everything just goes nuts.
Just before Cary was born (actually, the day before), my mom and I cleared out the yard, taking out tomato plants that had run amok. Underneath the giant tomato plants were some sad little decomposing stakes that I had tried to use to keep them up. Yeah, shoulda gotten those tomato frames.
Anyway, after we did all that work, 4 months of neglect brought back a disastrous amount of weeds. Among the weeds were some lettuce plants that came up all by themselves ( I let the lettuce I planted last year go to seed, and it was all over the yard!). Having lettuce all over the place was cool for a while, but soon, the other weeds had overtaken it.
So...Cary and I went to work:

Yes, all that green stuff is weeds. Yikes!
It's all cleared out now, and since the rain let up today, I planted some lettuce, spinach, summer squash and cucumbers.
I wish I had pictures of the cleaned out yard, but I don't yet, and it's dark out now.
Cary likes hanging out on my back while I garden. It works for a short period of time, after 15 minutes or so, she gets antsy, but that's something.
I hope I can keep up with the yardwork better now. We're going to try and get the yard more landscaped, and probably put down some material to stop the weeds. I really don't want the jungle to come back!

Some Baby Pix

2006-04-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

It's been too long, I know. I keep thinking this little girl can't get any cuter, but she does. Here are some recent ones:

Here we are today in one of our wraps:

And this is today also, in my friend's backyard:

This little girl has really taken to eating solids. She really likes to feed herself, or, well, dump food all over herself.

Yeah, that was fun!

Also on the list of new things, the sippy cup!!

Evil Incarnate

2006-04-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's my cat. He has taken to coming up and biting me on the leg for no dang reason at all. Last night he did it, and I freaked out and took after him with one of the throw pillows from the couch. I whacked him with it a few times, swearing profusely, I'm sorry to say. Erick was a little scared of me after that. I'm sorry, but there's just no good reason to go around biting people on the legs. It's not civilized.

Action pics:

Now, here he is getting ready to pounce on me.

And now I have him by the scruff of the neck.

I know he's just been starved for attention since Cary's been born, but I tell you, he's really pissin' me off.

Butternut Squash

2006-03-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

The new food for the week!

What's new lately?

2006-03-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been a while since my last post, as Randall reminded me. So what's been going on?

My dad had a heart attack Tuesday. He's home now, and doing okay, but he will be having open heart surgery in a couple weeks.
He lives about 2 hours north of me, and Cary and I went to visit him on Wednesday and Thursday. Erick came up with us Wednesday, but had to be back at work Thursday, so I drove my brother's car home, and we'll be driving it back up next weekend.
It is a little Corolla, and as my brother says, the hampsters are getting tired. It kind of shakes if you go over 65. Not the best for merging from 580 to 880.
Cary had not met her cousins (my brother has four kids), and she really enjoyed meeting them, especially Gracie, who is seven, and did ballet moves and made monkey noises for Cary.
Cary is rolling over quite easily now, meaning I have to keep a close eye on her at all times. No counting on her laying quietly on a blanket in the living room anymore!
She also is trying to sit up.
She is also teething.
This has made me suddenly feel very sad that she is growing so fast!
Yes, she's only four months old. But look!

Here she is at her great grandma's house, WATCHING TV, which I try my best to keep her away from, and which she zones in on if it is anywhere in her field of vision. I'm beginning to get annoyed with family that thinks "it's just so cute!" But it kinda is.

Little Motor Boat

2006-02-18T23:05:00.000-08:00

When we first brought Cary home, we gave her a bath in the little plastic baby tub. She hated it, and screamed like crazy. We did that a few more times, dreading it every time, then a friend suggested taking a bath with her in the bathtub.
She loves it! It's become part of her bedtime routine most nights, she and I taking a bath together.

As soon as I start the water running, she gets excited. She starts kicking her legs and waving her arms. I put her in her bouncy seat with a towel next to the tub. After I get in the bath, I pick her up and bring her in with me.

Then, I hold her out at arm's length in the water, and watch her go. She kicks her little chubby legs and flaps her arms as hard as she can. She isn't smiling, she's just looking straight up, with the most concentrated look on her face. She'll do that for as long as I hold her out. It's almost as if she's a little wind up toy. She looks as if she has an important goal that she's trying to accomplish.

I'm out, baby! I'm out!!

2006-02-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

I finally met with my boss and his boss today, and gave them the ultimatum: Let me work part time from home, or I've got to quit.
It felt really good to get everything out in the open. I told them that I've never felt like I had enough to do at my job, and that I thought I could do it part time. I know my boss was not happy to hear me say that in front of his boss. I said that there was no way I was going to come back into the office full time.
They said they would reevaluate the job and think about it.
Well, it didn't take long. In fact, for once, they acted quickly. A few hours later, my boss called and said that it was going to stay a full time position, and that it was up to me if I wanted to stay. "Do you want to think about it and get back to me?" he asked hopefully.
No, I know I can't work full time.
He was dissapointed, as well he should be, since they have really invested a lot in me. A lot of training, time, etc.
So I feel a little bad, but it's a relief that it's all over.
Now on to a new adventure...

"Are you sure she can see you?"

2006-02-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

Ever since Cary was born, people keep asking me how much she can see. I knew that as a newborn, she could only see like 8-12 inches, approximately the distance to my face while she was breastfeeding.
But how about now?
Yesterday, I was across the room from her, and she was smiling at me, so I assumed she could see me. Her great-grandma (a nurse) wasn't sure if she could see colors yet, but I thought for sure she could. Anyway, whenever someone would ask me about it, I would say, "I'll have to look that up," and today I finally did.
I found this really cool tool called TinyEyes, where you can upload a picture and see what it would look like to a baby from a certain distance. You choose the age of the baby, choose the distance, and then upload one of your pictures.
So...
This is what I look like to Cary from 5 feet away right now:

And this is what I look like from 2 feet away:

So I guess she can distinguish the image, but it's a little blurry. Very cool!

Cousins

2006-02-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

Our nephew, Wyatt, is 19 months old. It is so much fun to see him interacting with Cary. We went to Erick's brother's house today for a Superbowl party, and Wyatt could not stop kissing and hugging Cary. He even got into trouble a little because he was patting her too hard, but he just wanted to be close to her and, as my sister in law said, "he's just dying to squeeze her." When I go into the bedroom to nurse Cary, Wyatt will sneak in and peek at us. He's very quiet, and even is careful to shut the door when he leaves. When she was crying tonight, he was distressed, wandering around and trying to figure out what to do. He even started crying himself!
I never was around my cousins very much growing up, so I'm glad Cary will get to be around Wyatt alot. They're just over a year apart, which of course becomes less significant as they get older. Also, hopefully she'll have a little brother or sister someday. Not soon! But someday.
I realized that not only was I an only child, but I didn't even get to be around other relatives my own age, or even many of my parent's friends kids. My parents didn't have very many close friends, partly due to the fact that we moved so much, and also the fact that my mom worked so much. Geez. No wonder I had trouble making friends in high school.

Dread Pirate Parton

2006-02-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

This blog is one of my favorites. It's always entertaining, but this post especially cracked me up.
Favorite quote:

I'm developing a new theory: that Dolly Parton is an enterprise run almost identically to that of the Dread Pirate Roberts. So when the Dolly Parton we know grows weary and decides to retire, she identifies a replacement who will seamlessly merge into the life of Dolly Parton and carry on the Dolly Parton name and brand, as if nothing had ever happened.

So who will be the next Dread Pirate Parton?
See for yourself, and you'll agree it makes sense.

Hiccups

2006-02-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Cary has always gotten hiccups. I think it started when I was 8 months pregnant or so (I'm sure there's a post about it...), and it hasn't stopped. She gets them at least a couple times a day.
Tonight, though, I had them. I was feeding her, getting her ready to go to sleep, and I started hiccuping. I would hiccup, and she would stop nursing and give me this shocked look. "What the heck was that, mom?"
I kept trying to hold my breath, my tried and true way of ridding myself of hiccups, but to no avail.
Every time I hiccuped, she stopped nursing and looked at me questioningly. I could not stop laughing. I could not stop hiccuping. She could not concentrate on nursing. None of this was helping her go to sleep. I finally just laid her down in her crib, figuring she would do better without my help.
Sure enough, asleep in 5 minutes.

Fluent in Gibberish

2006-02-04T22:05:00.000-08:00

I had a post a while back about speaking gibberish, but now, I have to say, I'm really good at it.
I never knew how people knew what to say to babies, or how someone could talk to a baby for so long, and just come up with stuff to say.
I can babble on for goodness knows how long. I guess it helps that my audience is so appreciative. A typical conversation goes like this:

"How's the baby baby girrrrul?"
"Gaaaaahhh!"
"Udgy bidgy widgy wooogy!"
"aaaaaah! squeeeal!"
"boodgy boodgy boodgy!"
"gurgle"

The last of the pine needles

2006-01-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

I cleaned the floors today, which, by the way, was long overdue. I cannot beleive how many pine needles I found. We got rid of that darn tree on January 2nd! I have cleaned the floors since then, I swear.
There were not just a few either, there were piles of them. Bleeeaaach!
What am I going to do when Cary starts crawling? I can just see her putting this stuff in her mouth, not to mention the balls of cat hair.

Seeing God in the mundane stuff

2006-01-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

I loved this post at Katherine's blog about seeking God while doing all of the mundane stuff that is involved in raising kids and running a household. The things that struck me were "do the laundry, do the laundry again, clip some nails, clip some more nails..." Seriously, the nail clipping! I swear Cary's nails need to be clipped every other day! I never knew they grew that fast.
I'll also add "Do the dishes, do the dishes again." and "put her down for a nap, put her down for a nap again."
But K's post was a good reminder to keep seeking God in all of these things.

Therapy, or Take This Job and Shove It

2006-01-26T22:42:00.000-08:00

So I've written before about my work dillema, and today I went into the office to get "caught up".
To review, my boss had agreed to let me work from home part time for one month, then full time from home for two months after that. I had arranged this before I went out on maternity leave, and had been counting on it.
Well, guess what?
Yes! They changed their minds. So now they want me to come back full time from the start, half the time from home and half the time there for about a month. Then they want me back in the office full time, working from home "every once in a while". They tell me this FOUR DAYS before they want me to do it. Nice. So even if I planned on putting Cary in daycare, which, um, not going to happen, there is no way I could do that with four days notice. So the boss says they will "work with me" for one or two weeks, and I can work from home for that time. Oh, and also? Part of the justification is that he had expected me back sooner. I told him that I had not planned on having a C-section, and gee, sorry that was inconvenient for you.
So, really, really, not happy.
Anyway, I'm not sure what the plan is yet, but I guess my escape route will have to be accelerated.
Tonight, while Erick was at band rehersal, I watched Office Space for the millionth time. I tell you, that movie is like therapy for me. I love the line that Jennifer Aniston says to her asshole boss at Tchotkes, "I hate this job! I hate this goddam job and I don't need it!"
Yep. That's about right.

C.B. Perkins Blog

2006-01-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

We just started a new blog for the guitar shop! For those of you who don't know, my husband is part owner of a family guitar shop. We have been working on an online store, and as part of that, we are starting a blog.
It will have information about restorations we have done, new guitars we're excited about, and other stuff about the shop.
If you're interested in guitars, check it out!

"It's a little rough on the stomach..."

2006-01-25T10:04:00.000-08:00

Poor Erick. He has to try and navigate my cooking experiments stored in the refrigerator and the freezer.
There was the infamous "chicken ice cube" incident, for example. I had made ice cubes out of lemon juice, and then also made some out of chicken broth. Both were very convenient for when you just need a little broth, or a little juice. Unfortunately, both are approximately the same color. Both were stored in gallon-size plastic bags.
Erick likes to put the lemon ice cubes in his water, so you can guess what happened. Yep. Chicken water.
I made the lemon ice cubes again yesterday, and I also had a pitcher of lemon juice in the fridge, waiting to be turned into cubes. This led to Erick commenting to me later, "Hey, that's good lemonade, but it's a little rough on the stomach."
Boy. I've got to get better about warning him about these things.

Milestones

2006-01-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

Cary is grabbing things and looking at them now! I never thought I would get so excited about these little things, but it's so cool to see her do this:

And Marvin is getting more used to her, too:

I love being a mom!

We kept our pest alive!

2006-01-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember how heartlessly Katherine killed her resident rodent after it ate her chocolate.
Well, Erick was much kinder to a mouse they found in the guitar shop garbage can:

He fed it trail mix, and then it hid in a pop tart wrapper. Then, at closing, he set it free by the dumpster outside.
Maybe part of the deal was that it was contained in the garbage can, unable to run around and wreack havoc at the shop.
For the record, they have used mousetraps at the shop in the past. This little guy is cute, though, isn't he?

An Inspiration

2006-01-10T10:48:00.000-08:00

I had a great idea yesterday, caused by my craving of chocolate chip cookies. I've been wanting to make some cookies for a few days, but have been restraining myself. I really need to lose that baby weight.
Well, yesterday, I couldn't hold out any longer. So instead of making all of the cookies in the batch, I made the dough and froze it in cookie-sized portions. I put waxed paper on a shelf in the freezer (after moving all of the various frozen stuff off of that shelf and stuffing it into all the other shelves), and put the dough balls on the paper. So now I have a gallon-size bag full of dough balls. So exciting!! (I know, I'm a dork)
When Erick came home, he discovered the cookie dough and ate about 10 of them. Then he said, "I don't feel so good."
As long as he doesn't eat them all, in theory, I can just make a couple of cookies at a time, and have cookies whenever I want. How is this going to help me lose weight? Not really sure. Anyway, it's a good idea.

Breaking the Chains

2006-01-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

So I have been kind of ignoring the fact that I have to go back to work. I can't beleive how quickly these 11 weeks have gone by. My boss called today, wanting to discuss me returning to work, which he was thinking would happen NEXT WEEK. Sorry, my friend, I had a C-section, meaning I get two more precious weeks of getting paid for being at home.
My first month, they're going to let me telecommute. I can do all of the mind-numbing work from home, sitting in front of my computer, instead of sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle. Yay!
I could tell that my boss was anxious to have me back. I'm sure it's been hard distributing the work among the rest of my co-workers, and I'm sure some of the burden fell on him. The really frickin' lame thing is that nothing seems to have moved forward at all while I was gone. Okay, I've been out over 3 months, and the project that was wrapping up when I left (Going First Lot to Stock ANY DAY NOW! HURRY, HURRY, AND FINISH THE MANUAL!!!) is still going. It won't be done for another couple months. The other project has been delayed until June. So one might ask, what do they need me for? Good question.
I had pretty much made up my mind about leaving. I have talked to a friend of mine with a hair salon, and started making arrangements to have a station there. I could work a couple of evenings, and a few hours on the weekend. And I can work on my website businesses during the day. I'm starting to get excited about doing that, working for myself, not having someone looking over my shoulder, not having to go to work if there's nothing to do. Being with my baby during the day. Being able to do what I want to do. It won't be as easy as just showing up to an office and getting a paycheck, but I'll be FREE.
Talking to my boss today, I felt a little guilty. Here he is, thinking that I'm going to be back and his life will get easier, while I'm trying to figure out any way I can to leave. Well, sorry buddy. Family comes first.
I don't know. Maybe they'll let me keep working from home with reduced hours. Maybe I'll stay. Even though I hate it. But I'm not chaining myself to that cubicle ever again. I just can't.

Swahili Invention

2006-01-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

That's Erick's name for this:

It's actually a Moby Wrap, which just came in the mail today. It's a long peice of t-shirt like fabric, which you wrap around your body. It's so nice and cozy for Cary, and it's comfortable for me, since it uses both shoulders. Anyway, swahili invention or not, it helped her to stop crying tonight, which was great. Plus, it's orange.
Seriously, if you have an infant, this thing is great. I wish I had it sooner.

Juggling

2006-01-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Well, reality is hitting. I have something like 4 weeks left of my maternity leave. I hope I'm not screwing myself by writing this on the internet, but I'm going to do it anyway:
I hate my job, have hated it for a long time, and there is no way in hell I'm going to sit in a cubicle instead of being with my baby. They have agreed to let me work part time from home for 1 month, then full time from home for 2 months after that.
Here's the thing, though: I think the part time thing will work out okay, but I'm also trying to get some contract work that I can do from home, and I can't do that and work full time. The contract work is maintaining websites and possibly writing a user manual for a new software company. I also post things on eBay for Erick's shop and will be maintaining the CB Perkins online store, when it finally gets going. All of these little things will eventually support us, but right now, I'm just getting started, and it won't be enough for a while.
So what to do?
Reality is hitting, and I need to figure something out soon. I'm considering going back to my other career, haircutting, and doing that a couple nights a week so that Erick can take care of the baby.
I think I'll also tell my work (after the month of part time, or sometime during it) that I'm going to quit unless they let me continue to work part time. See how that strikes them. Maybe they'll be more willing to work with me if it's part time or nothing. I just can't go back to full time. There is no way.
I hate having to figure this out, but I'm also grateful that I do have options. It's kind of exciting, too, to have the opportunity to do something different. I know God has a plan for us, since He told us that before I got pregnant. I'm just trying to figure out what that might be.
Anyone have suggestions?

Update

2005-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

I wanted to update you on the weight gain thing for Cary. She went to the doctor on Tuesday, and she had gained 6 ounces! So they were happy, and they said we have nothing to worry about, and to keep doing what I'm doing. Whew!
I have a scale at home now, so I'll keep track of things here, while trying not to be too obsessive about it.

What I do all day

2005-12-29T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm Cary, and I'm 10 weeks old. Wait, is that right? Yes, it's gone by really fast! This is what I do most of the day. I'm in my bouncy seat, sleeping peacefully. I also like to sleep in my bassinet, in my crib:

And sometimes with mommy in her bed.
I also sleep in one of my various slings:

When I'm not asleep, I really like to make faces at mommy, and play with my duck.

Of course, I like to eat. There's not much variety, but mommy's milk is sooo yummy. When I can keep it down.
Sometimes I hang out in my bouncy seat and watch mommy work at the computer, but that's kind of boring.
I like to hang out in my kick and play, too. My most favorite thing is going for walks with mommy and looking around at all of the trees and cars and people. Until I fall asleep. Which doesn't take long.
Then we go back home, and I sleep some more.

Ow! or, Shots suck, and other adventures

2005-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Cary had her first vaccinations today. It was so sad to see her crying and in pain. Erick was going to come with us, but he was so tired, and I didn't make him get out of bed, even though we scheduled the appointment early in the morning so he could go. I thought I would be okay, but it would have been nice to have him there. Especially since Cary threw up right before I left. I'm not talking little baby spit up, I'm talking major vomiting. She did it last week, too. I called the dr. and they said as long as she's acting normal, not to worry. It's so scary, though, to see this little baby vomiting up her entire meal. Gah!
So, this has not been a good morning.
Also, Cary's weight has gone from the 50th percentile to the 25th, so she isn't gaining as fast as she should be. We go for a weigh in next week, just to make sure everything is ok. But one more thing to worry about. Ayyyy!

Babel Fish is Right!

2005-12-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

Birgit has a meme on her blog, that goes thusly:
Your task, should you choose to accept it: take a post or part of a post. Go here.

Copy the text, and translate it into any language. Then copy the translation into the 'translate' field, and translate it back into English.

So I did it with this passage:

She always relaxes when she's on her changing table, so we tried putting the changing pad in her crib, and putting her to sleep that way. Maybe it was middle-of-the-night-sleep-deprived deleriosity, but...Success!! Who knows what we'll be doing next week. I still have a hard time with her being in another room, I feel too separated from her.

I translated it into Spanish, then back into English, and this is what I got:

It relaxes always when it is in his table that she changes, so we tried to put the cushion that she changed in his manger, and to put it to sleep that way. He was perhaps deleriosity Medio-de-$$$-NOCHE-DORMIR-PRIVADO, but... success! Who knows what we will make the week next. Still I have awhile it last elsewhere with his being, I also feel separated of her.

Then I did the same thing with Japanese and got this:

She her is always a table of her modification, therefore that we put the pad of modification on her lintel bucket, tried the fact that she is put in order to sleep in such wind, it loosens. Deleriosity where that is plundered night sleeping of center perhaps, but... success! Was! We do next year week those where it is known or someone. I pass at the time of balance of the thing where she is in still another room, me leaving from her who is felt excessively.

Really weird. The Japanese one sounds poetic in a way, "Deleriosity where that is plundered night sleeping of center perhaps". But seriously, "lintel bucket?" What the heck is that? And how is that related to a crib?

Ouch! Soon I'll be invisible!

2005-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

I just looked for the first time in a long time, and I've devolved again! Really devolved! I used to be a Crawly Amphibian, or at least a Flippery Fish, or at the very least, a Slimy Mollusk. Now, I'm a Multicelluar Microorganism!
If you're wondering what the heck I'm on about, it's the TTLB ecosystem, which ranks blogs based on how many people link to them. I'm sure my infrequent posting is the cause.
Oh well. This is the sort of thing a Bisy Backson worries about, not me.

Bisy Backson

2005-12-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite books is Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh.
In that book, Hoff describes a certain creature called the Bisy Backson. The name is based on a note that Christopher Robin left for Pooh Bear, which read:

Gon out
Backson
Bisy
Backson
C.R.

Hoff describes the Bisy Backson this way:

Let's put it this way, if you want to be healthy, relaxed, and contented, just watch what a Bisy Backson does and then do the opposite. There's one now, packing back and forth, jingling the loose coins in his pocket, nervously glancing at his watch. He makes you feel tired just looking at him. The chronic Backson always seems to have to be going somewhere, at least on a superficial, physical level. He doesn't go out for walk, though; he doesn't have time. The Bisy Backson is always On The Run, it seems, always:
GONE OUT
BACK SOON
BUSY
BACK SOON

Anyway, that's how I've felt lately. When I have too many days where I'm "gon out backson bisy backson", it affects Cary, too. She gets overtired and fussy. She doesn't nurse as well. So I'm trying to avoid it. Sometimes we need to just stay home and relax. Go for a walk. Read a book. Watch a movie. Cuddle. Take a nap. You know, the important stuff.

Making do

2005-12-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas is Erick's favorite time of the year. Around Halloween, he started talking about how excited he is to get a Christmas tree. Every week, he would ask, "When are we going to get our tree?" "The weekend after Thanksgiving." I would say. "And we're going to watch the Grinch, and It's a Wonderful Life, right?" "Yes."
"And Charlie Brown Christmas?" "Yes."
"And we're going to stay home on Christmas day and cook a goose?" "Yes!"
As Thanksgiving got closer, we had this conversation at least once a day.
For those of you who don't know, Erick is my husband, not a little kid, but he gets like a little kid when it comes to Christmas. I love that about him.
The bummer thing is that Erick is working seven days a week during December, just part of the joys of being in the retail business. So Cary and I don't get to spend as much time with him as we'd like. To try to make up for that, we've been visiting him at work:

And we've been enjoying our time at home in the evenings:
In this photo, Erick is telling Cary how much he loves Christmas, and how nice our Christmas tree is, and how good it smells. He may also be mentioning that we're going to stay at home on Christmas day and cook a goose.

We're enjoying the holiday season, but at the same time, we'll be really glad when things are back to normal. We'll celebrate with our family Christmas eve, then Christmas Day we're going to lock our doors and turn off the phone, and (did I mention?) roast a goose, and have some time with just the three of us. We're looking forward to that.

Uncommon to Common

2005-12-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

Katherine posted about name popularity, and while I won't go into as much detail as she did (because she is BIG on details!), I will say that my married name is much more common (#190) than my maiden name (#6538).
If you want to check out your name, you can do it here.

Getting dressed and sleeping

2005-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

I'm getting email wondering where I am, so just a quick post:
Cary and I are doing well, starting to feel a little more normal. Clothes have been interesting. I still wear some maternity clothes, since none of my regular clothes are even close to fitting. I bought a pair of jeans two weeks ago, but they are now too big. That's a positive, I know, but I'm still left with nothing fitting. And who wants to spend a bunch of money on clothes that I'll only wear for a couple months? Not me. But I've got to wear something.
A friend told me today that I look a lot better than I did last week.
Hmmm. What did I look like last week?
Oh, you looked fine, just tired, I guess.
Well, that makes sense, as Cary is now sleeping a lot more at night. Last night she slept (mostly, with one or two short crys which stopped before I got there to pick her up) from 11:30 until 4am. That was significant. She ate at 4, then went back to sleep until almost 8!
Boy, were we ready for her to go to sleep at 11:30, though. She had been crying off and on since about 8:00. We kept thinking she was asleep...then we'd relax, almost doze off...Waaaaa! Dang!
We've been trying different sleeping arrangements for her. Mostly, she sleeps in a bassinet by our bed. That is okay, but she can be a noisy sleeper, grunting, squealing, etc. She's asleep, but I wake up every time she makes a sound. Sometimes I end up sleeping with her in the bed, since she nurses to sleep, and so do I. That's okay, but we both wake up sweaty, and I have to peel her face off my arm.
She always relaxes when she's on her changing table, so we tried putting the changing pad in her crib, and putting her to sleep that way. Maybe it was middle-of-the-night-sleep-deprived deleriosity, but...Success!! Who knows what we'll be doing next week. I still have a hard time with her being in another room, I feel too separated from her. But sleeping is good, so...
Okay, said it was going to be a quick post, and it's long. I'll try to post more often. Kinda busy, though.

Cary's name

2005-11-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

Katherine asked a while ago why we spelled our daughter's name the way we did, so I thought I would answer that. No, she's not named after Cary Grant.

My mother and grandmother are named Cary. It's an old family name, as my family settled in the town now known as Cary, North Carolina when they came over from Scotland.

Huh, on doing a Google search of Cary, North Carolina, I found that it's now the "Technology Town of North Carolina". Interesting.

Adjusting

2005-11-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here I am reading two "baby books" at the same time, trying to figure out what to do. I don't remember what it was I was looking for at the time, but this is a common occurence.
Things are going fairly well, though I've had a few rough days, as my friends who have recieved tearful phone calls are aware.
I'm so thankful that Cary is nursing well, seems to be gaining weight, and is overall pretty happy. The last two nights I've actually woken up feeling well-rested, which is great! It's a nice change from feeling like I've been run over by a truck, and that the truck is backing up to finish the job.
I think the key is having my husband around. Unfortunately, we are heading into the busiest time of year for him (Christmas, and he's in retail), so we're going to have to get creative in order for him to be around more.
Last night, Erick sat in the nursing glider and read "The Indian in the Cupboard" the the baby. It was so great! I was making dinner, and I got to listen to the story at the same time. It's so fun watching him spend time with her and see them interact. She already loves her daddy.
Anyway, I wanted to post a quick update, but now I have to get back to my list of things to do. I'll try to post again soon.

Mascara on the burp cloths

2005-11-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend, and she asked me if I had been napping much. I stopped for a second. "No." I said, thinking, why is that? The baby sleeps all the time.
Ah, I explained, I've had people here non-stop almost since she was born. "Oh, so you've been entertaining" she said.
Then, it started to hit me how tired I am. I started to get choked up.
Erick's aunt was planning on coming over in the afternoon to help me, and I had told her it would be fine. But as I was talking to my friend, I realized it wasn't. I didn't need help, I needed sleep, and that's exactly what I can't do when people are here. Also, Erick's mom was planning on coming Thursday and Friday.
I started to re-evaluate. Why was she coming? Was it going to help me? Or was I doing it for her?
What would she do?
Dishes? There aren't that many, and Erick can do them.
Laundry? My mom got us caught up on that last week, and it's not too bad.
Cleaning? The house is really clean, again, thanks to my mom organizing everything.
Holding the baby? No thanks, I enjoy doing that myself.
No, I don't really need help.
So, I called everyone and told them not to come. I unplugged the phone, and took a nap with my daughter for two hours. I felt sooo much better. This morning, after Erick left for work, we slept for another couple hours.
I've still been finding myself leaking from the eyes fairly often, but I'm feeling better. It will be nice to have a couple of days to myself.

Patching up

2005-11-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

It's really amazing how much pregnancy horomones can affect you. I feel like I'm waking up from the irritable fog I was in lo those nine months.
I am now in the process of apologizing and repairing some of the relationships that were somewhat, uh, rocky during that time.
Oh, what a bitch I was! And I felt utterly justified in it.
God, and mothers (and friends, oh and husbands), are very patient and forgiving. For that I'm thankful.
My best friend Cindy told me that I would probably feel much better after I had the baby, and I am so glad that she was right.
I don't feel like biting everyone's head off anymore, and I'm ready to apply bandages to some of the wounds I inflicted. Hopefully none of them were mortal.

Bad mommy! Forgot to post stats!

2005-10-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Cary Irene's Stats

6 lbs, 10 oz
19 inches long

She's here!

2005-10-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Cary Irene, born Tuesday, October 25th, 2005. She was born on her due date, right on time!

We're both doing great. We came home from the hospital yesterday (Friday). My delivery was not at all what I expected, as I ended up having an emergency C-section. Who woulda thunk it? A problem-free pregnancy, no complications of any kind, but you just never know.
I had progressed well, getting to 5 centimeters dilated, completely effaced, and the baby was in position. But then, my uterus started working too well. The contractions were so strong that the placenta was separating from the wall of the uterus. The baby's heart rate went down and blood was not getting to her.
I had no idea what was going on because I was having non-stop, intense contractions, and could not focus on anything other than the pain. My doctor finally got up next to my face and said that she recommended having a C-section, and I immediately agreed.
The doctors and nurses did such an amazing job, and they were able to deliver the baby safely and keep me awake for the whole thing. I'm so thankful for having such great care and being at such a good hospital. Erick was there for the whole thing, of course, and he was amazing. He never showed how scared and worried he was, just held my hand through the whole thing. My mom was there too, and she was also perfect, a very calming presence.
I don't feel at all dissapointed or cheated by having had a C-section, since there was just no other way to go at that point. I'm just really surprised that it worked out that way.

But the baby!! She is doing soooo well! She's eating like a champ, and already has gained back her birthweight. It was nice to come home yesterday, and she seems more relaxed now, too.

Thanks, everyone for all of your prayers.

I'm going to go eat now, before the little girl wakes up.

More on housework

2005-10-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

After I posted yesterday about our remodeling project, I realized I left out the most important thing: More than being bugged by the mess and disorganization, I miss my husband! He's been doing nothing but working on the house on all his days off for months. So, I'm hoping this weekend (our weekends are Sunday and Monday) will be the last, and I can have him back!

It's looking optimistic. He got all the sanding done and just has to paint now. Here's hoping!

Housework

2005-10-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

I posted a few weeks ago about our remodeling adventures, and that I was going nuts trying to be patient with Erick's perfectionism. At that time, he was working on our bedroom, scraping and sanding door and window frames in our 80 year old house. I was anxious because he had to finish our bedroom before we could move on to the baby's room.
Well, the bedroom is done now (has been for a few weeks), and it looks great.
My wonderful Dad came today and added a new outlet for me in the bedroom, and a electrical box so we can hook up a light above my vanity.
Erick is still working on the baby's room, you guessed it, scraping and sanding window and doorframes. I've been relatively sanguine about this, not nagging him or trying to get him to stop obsessing and just FINISH IT ALREADY!!!! My reasoning was that the baby won't be in that room for a while anyway, and we have a bassinet that we will use at first in our bedroom. So I was okay. I wasn't worried. I was, in fact, cool.

That is until this week. Ok, maybe last weekend.

I mean, our house only has four rooms, and we haven't been able to use one of them for about a month now. All of the baby stuff is in the garage, or stacked up in the living room. There are paint chips covering the floor in the baby's room and being tracked all over the house. And at this point, I want my FRICKIN' HOUSE BACK ALREADY!

So I finally resorted to begging him to not scrape the closet door frame, just to sand it and be done with it. After some argument, and an agreement that if he will stop I won't hide the halloween candy and let him have as many Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as he wants, he agreed. Now, he's sanding.
Lord willing, he will be painting tomorrow (Please, God? Please?).

Uggi Saki Wugi!

2005-10-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

This is way, way too funny!

Speak gibberish!

via Jon, of course.

We've come a long way, baby!

2005-10-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ha! Modest swimwear.
I just came across this on Manolo's shoeblog.
Maybe people can wear this to the Christian gym!

After looking at this site, I have one word: Itchy!

Though maybe this would cover up the stretchmarks and cellulite resulting from my pregnancy...at the cost of making me look like an 80 year old.

ok, now I'm off to do something productive with the rest of my day.

Not tagged, but doing it anyway.

2005-10-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Birgit had this on her blog:

1.Go into your archives.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.

Well, here's mine, a typical sarcastic comment:

"Oh, apparently not."

I'm not tagging anyone, but if anyone wants to do it, go ahead! It was interesting to look at my archives. I didn't realize how many posts I actually had. I still don't know exactly (too lazy to count), but it's over 100.

Insulting

2005-10-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

In a short break from pregancy stuff, I just have to say something about the Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination.
This has been bugging me for a while. Ever since she was first put forward, it seems that the main reasons the president has given conservatives for supporting her are:

1. I know her.
2. She's a woman.
3. Trust me.

Well, in short, those reasons suck.

The first problem I have with the nomination is that it seems sneaky. Why pick someone who has a very thin record, and not many written opinions regarding constitutional issues? When Bush nominated John Roberts, everyone agreed that he was highly qualified. He had argued many cases before the Supreme Court, he had clear conservative ties, and even those on the other end of the ideological spectrum agreed that he knew what he was doing. With Miers, we get no such impression. We know that she's a Christian, but so what? Her lack of a record communicates that the administration is trying to hide something. Why not just be honest? Pick a nominee who has a clear conservative record, if that's the kind of person you want on the court. Will there be a battle? Sure, but let's go for it. Don't give us someone no one knows anything about and then just ask us to trust you. When Clintion nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he didn't try to hide that she's a liberal. Just be honest.

Secondly, so Harriet Miers is a woman. Big deal. I would rather have a man that is qualified than a woman who is not. If you can find a woman who is clearly qualified, great. I'm sure there are some out there. But don't just pick a woman to fulfill some kind of quota. That isn't what conservatives do. That's what conservatives are always complaining about liberals doing.

The third thing that bothers me is that the Bush administration seems to misunderstand the conservative base. With Miers, the insinuation is "she's against Roe v. Wade". Well, okay, but there are lots of other issues out there that we care about. There are lots of other issues that come before the Supreme Court. How about property rights? Illegal immigration? Prisoner abuse? The death penalty? The pledge of allegiance? Does she have any knowledge about these issues? What is her constitutional philosophy? Conservatives want someone who interprets the constitution according to the original intent of the framers, not according to the judge's personal preferences. Conservatives (well, some of us, anyway) don't want a right-wing activist, we want an originalist. Hey, maybe sometimes the interpreting the constitution according to original intent may lead to Supreme Court decisions contrary to some conservative preferences, but the constitution will be followed, and that is the important thing. So, Miers is against Roe v. Wade. But why is she against it? Is it because she thinks abortion is wrong, or is it because she beleives it was bad law in the first place?
I have actually heard a talk show host say, "I'm supporting Miers because James Dobson and Jay Sekulow support her." To me, that is ridiculous and scary. Why can't you think these things out for yourself? There are real issues at stake here. This is not some kind of game.

Then, I see this article in the Chicago Tribune, talking about how Miers didn't even do a complete job filling out a questionairre given to her by the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is the kind of thing that seems to communicate to the Senate and to the rest of us, "screw you, the president likes me, so I don't have to give you anything." Many of the senators on the committee said that this is insulting, and it is.
That is not how this country works. We have a democracy, not a dictatorship, and I don't take the president, or any other politician, on his word. Explain to us why we should support this person. Give some solid reasons to support her. Tell us about her background. Don't say "Trust me". Ronald Reagan said, in 1980, in response to Carter asking the American people to trust him:

Mr. Carter says, trust him. Well, that's not what this country is all about. We don't place trust in one man. If there's trust placed in anyone it's the trust placed in the American people, and it's up to the elected leaders to not violate that trust. It is a belief of principles and ideals that survive, not the trust of one man.

So, no, Mr. President. I don't trust you. Not until you give me a reason to.

No stork yet, Feeble!

2005-10-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Gosh! I've been so negligent lately. I realize that an extended period of no posting at this point in my pregnancy makes people wonder: Hmmm, she hasn't posted in a while, has she had the baby? Feeble Knees even posted as much!
Not yet! Thanks for praying though, I really appreciate it.

This is interesting, though. A couple weeks ago I left a message for a friend to "please call me back right away". I didn't really think about it, but she called, worried. "Are you okay? Are you in labor?" Oops. No. I just wanted to ask you about having lunch.

Also, one of my haircut clients left me a message and asked if I could squeeze in one more haircut before the baby. I, in turn, left her a message with times, days, etc. She called me back, leaving another message. Then, I forgot about it. Two days later, I remembered in the middle of the night that I hadn't called her back. When I called the next day, she said "Oh, I was sure you had the baby! I wasn't going to call you for another week!"

I called Cindy yesterday, and was greeted with "Are you in labor?" Then there are the daily calls from mom-in-law. God help me if I go past my due date! Will there be hourly calls? Will I still be able to be nice?

So, I have to be careful what I say. It's a really weird feeling knowing I could go into labor at any time. In the grocery store this weekend, the expiration date on the milk was after my due date.

Ok, baby. Whenever you're ready!

Braggarts!

2005-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Catching up on my blog reading today, I ran across two posts that made me jealous.

Katherine muses: "When you already live in paradise, where can you go for vacation? Oh, I know, someplace even cooler!"

Jon rejoices in being able to drive in the carpool lane all by himself.

Man! You people are soooo fortunate. No, really, I'm happy for you. I am, I swear.

Doctor update

2005-10-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

I'm dilated one centimeter! I don't know if I'm going into too much detail here, but I'm excited that progress is being made, and the baby is getting ready to come out and meet us.
The doctor says it will probably be another week or two, though. It's such a relief to know that the baby is full term and is okay. I kept feeling like something bad was bound to happen. Now I'm just excited, and somewhat apprehensive about going through labor. Lots of women have done it before, so I guess I'll be okay, but yikes, it's going to hurt!!

Cat in the cradle

2005-10-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

I brought home a bassinet, borrowed from Cindy, and look who thinks it's his new home:

Not for long, kitty!

Not yet!

2005-10-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Just had my weekly doctor's appointment, and there is no progress yet, no dilating, no effacement, nothin'.
Looks like it will be at least another week, if not longer.
It's nice to continue to have the time off of work and to be able to have a little longer to get the baby's room done and get everything organized. I'm anxious to meet this little baby, though! So many questions, is it a boy or a girl? What will he/she look like? Will I have trouble breastfeeding?
I keep saying that it just doesn't seem real that we're actually going to have a baby, but why should it? We've never had one before, and we really don't know what to expect. It will seem real enough with all of those middle of the night feedings and diaper changes, I'm sure.

You're really pregnant when...

2005-09-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

You feel that bathroom stalls are WAY too small. There's barely room to turn around!

You sit down on the toilet and feel a sense of deja vu. Wasn't I JUST here?

You really hate your maternity clothes. Yeah, those ones that were sooo cute a few months ago. And besides, the clothes that fit just great when you were in your second trimester either look indecent, or won't come close to covering your belly.

The receptionist at the doctor's office knows you by sight.

You can no longer see the numbers on the scale, and if you could...GAH!

Drying yourself off after a shower becomes an exercise in balance and agility.

There is no way in hell you can tie your shoes.

ok, /rant. Can anyone think of any more?

Lady of leisure? Hah!

2005-09-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

I've now been officially on maternity leave for 3 days. It's felt really nice not to have to rush into work every morning and be chained to my desk all day. Plus, my back is feeling much better. Sitting in that chair (even though it was a great, ergonomic chair) all day was killing me.
However, I've been really busy so far. I'm working on the guitar shop's online store, and doing some other small jobs (brochure, newspaper ad) for the shop as well. So between that and running errands, my days have been pretty full.
When my mother-in-law asked me how it feels to be a lady of leisure, I had to laugh. Um, I DON'T think so.

Erick has mentioned a few times that he really likes me being at home, and I really do too. I know it's only been 3 days, but I guess it feels different since I know I'll be here for several months at least. And I know that I'll be so much busier when I have a baby to take care of. I know that I have no concept of what that's like.

I really hope that I never have to go back to my old job, at least not full-time. It would be so great to just do freelance stuff at home, like I'm doing now. We'll see what God has in store. I know it's going to be good.

Goblet of Fire trailer

2005-09-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Just saw the new "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" trailer. Oooooo, so cool!
I can't wait to see the movie!

Link via Dizzy Girl

Yeah, this is how I'm goofing off on my second to last day of work. Bad!
But whatever, I'm going home early now.

Arrr, I'm late!

2005-09-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

I missed Talk Like a Pirate Day, but still had to check this out.

My pirate name is:

Black Mary Read

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. Even though many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

via Birgit

Line of the day

2005-09-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Have They Looked in the Chili?
"Wendy's Loses President"--headline, TheStreet.com, Sept. 19

From James Taranto's Best of the Web Today

Another one of these quiz dealies

2005-09-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Your Power Color Is Teal

At Your Highest:

You feel accomplished and optimistic about the future.

At Your Lowest:

You feel in a slump and lack creativity.

In Love:

You tend to be many people's ideal partner.

How You're Attractive:

You make people feel confident and accepted.

Your Eternal Question:

"What Impression Am I Giving?"

What's Your Power Color?

Hmm. Well, no matter how many people's "ideal partner" I am, Erick got me first. All the rest of y'all are out of luck! :-)

via Jenny on the Spot, whose blog I found through Katherine, and have been really enjoying.

For Sparky

2005-09-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

I got an email from a coworker this morning entitled "When graphic artists get bored", containing about 25 images (yeah, way to clog up the inbox, huh?). This one was cool, though, and I know Sparky will like it. Oh, and Birgit, too.

I've seen a turtle that small before, when our turtle Jonah had babies (ok, he's male, so I guess he fertilized some eggs).

Ultrasound picture

2005-09-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the ultrasound. So it's just the face. You can see the eyes, nose and mouth, and the cheeks look kind of squished.
I was going to put arrows and callouts on the picture to help you figure it out, but, nah, too lazy. I think it's pretty clear. Is that just me? What do you think?

In the interest of moving that nasty spider down the page...

2005-09-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

I just have to post something nicer to look at.

Meanwhile, we've had a really nice weekend. My mom is here from New Hampshire, and it's been great having her here. She got to come to the ultrasound today. Everything still looks good with the baby. The baby weighs about 5 pounds now, which means the birth weight will probably be around 7 lbs.
We got a good picture of the face, and since I just got a scanner, I'm going to try and post it.

Unwelcome Visitor

2005-09-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

In the corner of our bedroom ceiling. Hasn't moved yet, but not I'm not sure what we're going to do about it yet. I'm usually not that scared of spiders, I just squish them, but this one's long, barbed-looking legs really freak me out. Ick! Not something you want to see when you first wake up.

Baby shower

2005-09-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

My baby shower was yesterday, and I was blown away by what an amazing job my friends and family did in putting it together. We had great food, fun games, and lots of people I love. Oh, and an incredible amount of gifts! I feel like I now have everything I need (almost) for the baby. Now, I just have to find somewhere to put it. Right now, it's all over the house:

And on the deck:

Oh, the jolly roger in the background? That would be Erick's.

I was so glad to have my mom there. I hadn't seen her since February, as she lives back east. Plus, she's here until Monday, so I still have two more days to spend with her. She crocheted these really cool booties:

Since my mom is the only person who knows the sex of the baby, many people were dissapointed that the booties gave nothing away.

The highlight of the shower for me was the prayer time. I felt so blessed by everyone's prayers, and it was cool to open my eyes and see so many people wiping away tears. It's great that God's spirit was there, and also it was good to remember Who's really in charge.
Someone even prayed that the birth canal would be well-lubricated (!!), something I'm sure I'll appreciate more at some point.

Cindy took lots of pictures at the shower, so I'll be sure to post those, or at least a link to them, soon.

Remodeling vs. Hormones

2005-09-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Ugh, ugh, ugh.
We've been working on our little tiny house for a couple weeks now.
Who am I kidding? Erick and my dad have been working on our house. I've been lying around like a beached whale. The plan is to move our bedroom to the office and make our current bedroom the nursery.
I'm trying to be patient. Really. Erick worked all weekend on the room, but the problem is, he's so detail oriented that all he worked on was ONE window frame. We have the cool old windows with the wood frames and great lines, which have been inexpertly covered with many layers of white "landlord paint", including drips. Oh, don't get me wrong, the window frame he's been working on is perfect. It's just that there is another window, and THREE door frames that also need attention, not to mention that the walls need to be painted so that we can move our stuff in. Also, we have to have our stuff moved in by next week so that we can work on the other room.

So, I've been getting impatient. I keep telling Erick that the windows look fine, and to Please Move On. He just tells me, don't worry, it'll get done. But, Erick...
Please. Stop. Worrying. So I left him alone for a few days.

Well, last night I couldn't take it anymore. He told me that he wants to buy new door frames from a specialty store and install those.
Him:"They're not that expensive!"
Me:"How much are they?"
Him: "I don't know"
Me: "Don't they have to be special ordered?"
Him: "I think so."
Me: "How long will that take?"
Him: "I'm not sure."
I'm thinking, Aaaack! Don't you know I'm having a baby in five weeks or less?!?!! I don't care about the freaking door frames!

I lost it. "Look, we need to finish this and get the room painted this weekend. Oh my God, I can't beleive how much time you've already spent on this! We don't have time to obsess over this stuff. The door frames look FINE. You are not buying new ones!!!"
I was very releived when he just looked at me, turned around, then started taping off the windows so that he could paint. I think he knew I had finally reached the pregnant woman breaking point and that I would start shooting fire out of my nostrils if he didn't just listen and obey. Of course I felt bad afterwards for yelling, and then immediately sunk into insecurity and self hatred, wondering if I'm alienating everyone around me, and will anyone still want to talk to me by the time I have the baby? Mood swings. Gotta love 'em.
Upside is, the room is going to get painted this weekend and we can move our stuff in so that my dad can start on the other room. Phew.

Blah Blah Blog

2005-09-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

What the heck is that? The name of my good friend Joe's blog!
I'm very excited to hear (er, read) what he has to say.
Again just in case there's anyone reading this who doesn't already know Joe, check out his blog here.

Hiccups

2005-09-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

Within the last week or so, the baby has been getting the hiccups! Actually he/she has them right this moment. I had been hearing about this for a while, but hadn't experienced it, and I was wondering if I ever would.
Some people have said it's irritating, but it's not too bad. I prefer that to the wedging feet (or something) under my ribs.
The doctor has said she thinks the baby is head-down, and the hiccups would seem to confirm that, as they seem to be coming from the lower part of the giant lump.
I have one last ultrasound on Monday, so at that point we'll find out for sure if the little blighter is breech or is facing the right way.
Oh, and my mom is going to be here for the ultrasound! She's coming out (from back east) for the baby shower, and will be here until Tuesday. I haven't seen her since February, so it's very exciting.

Well, it's always been one of my favorite books...

2005-09-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

The latest quiz:

You are Romans.

Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Other people will have to tell me if it's accurate, I'm not really sure. I like this one, though I wish they would have made different choices on the font color. My eyes!

via Feeble Knees

Fricken' Chicken

2005-09-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

So in a continuation of the nesting, I made a whole bunch of chicken last night. I thought I would post the recipe, since it's one of my favorites, and Joe and Cindy liked it when I made it for them many moons ago. They especially like the name.
It's from The I Hate to Cook Book, by Peg Bracken. I love this book, even though I like cooking, because it has so many easy recipes, and it's very entertaining. Anyway, the recipe:

Bastard Barbecue
Take a bunch of chicken pieces and salt and pepper them lavishly. You can also use garlic salt, but I don't because Erick doesn't like it. Put them in a baking pan, sprinkle them with lots of brown sugar and put small pieces of butter (pea size or smaller) on top of the chicken. Bake them for about an hour at 375.
It is really yummy. Plus, it doesn't require anything that isn't already around the house normally.

I thought about freezing some of these, but decided that I wanted to keep the extra chicken around so that I don't have to cook dinner tonight. I might change my mind, though. I'm thinking about making some quiche. And freezing it.

Nesting

2005-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing for some time about a nesting instinct that kicks in towards the end of pregnancy. I guess for most people it involves decorating the nursery and frenzied housecleaning.
For me, it's cooking. To be specific, cooking and freezing things. A friend gave me an article a while back that suggested cooking a little extra at each meal and freezing the leftovers so you don't have to worry about cooking for a while after the baby comes. Well, that had been knocking around in my head for a month or so, and finally I started doing it. So far, I've frozen split pea soup, homemade turkey burgers (I like to mix in eggs, worcestire sauce, oatmeal and various veggies in with the ground turkey, this time it was tomatoes, onions and bell peppers), a loaf of bananna bread, and two bags of cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes work out well, since you can just pour out the amount you need and cook with them. I have so doggone many of those things growing in my backyard right now that there's no way I could eat them all.
Anyway, I've been a freezing fiend for a few days. I know that people will bring us meals, but still, it will be nice to have all this stuff pre-made.
Erick is making fun of me, though.

Working

2005-09-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've been going back and forth with my boss for a while now about what my work situation will be like after I have the baby. I asked for the ideal situation, which would be working part-time from home.
At first, he said "Fine, whatever we need to do to keep you!" He was very agreeable and supportive.
Then, he talked to his boss. She was not at all into the idea of me working from home. I've worked from home at times in the past, and it has been fine. Not many people at my company do it, so I get comments like, "Oh, are you feeling okay?" or "Are you enjoying your soap operas?" and since I've been pregnant, "Oh, you must be nesting." (This from a woman, by the way)
This really ticks me off, as I'm, you know, actually WORKING!!!!
So anyway, I met with my boss today, and we worked out a compromise. I will work part time from home for a month after I return from maternity leave, then the next month I'll be full time from home, coming into the office one day a week. Then, I'll come in two days a week for another month, working the rest of the time from home.
After that, I'll be back in the office full time, working from home maybe once a week.
Personally, I think this sucks. I'm glad they're working with me a little bit, but I really don't want to be putting my 6-month old in daycare full time.
My boss did say that we could "reevaluate" after the 3 month period and see if I could continue working mostly from home, so that gives me some hope.
Also, I have some other things in the works, so if those become lucrative this might not even be an issue. We shall see.
I really don't see what the big issue is, since I can do my job from anywhere, and most of the communication can be done via phone or email. It's just this attitude that if you work from home, you're not really working. Maybe I can help to change that.
Anyway, I'll have 16 weeks off before I have to come back at all, so I'm going to enjoy it.

Highway 1, part two

2005-09-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Another cool thing about travelling up Highway 1 is all of the paths off the highway that you can take down to the ocean. We found a trail a couple years ago that leads to a deep cove. There's a tunnel that leads to the cove, and often there are sea otters in the water. We weren't sure if we'd be able to find it again this time, but we did, and there was even a sea otter. He was too far away to get a good shot of, unfortunately. When I tried zooming in in Photoshop, even with a high res image, the otter ended up looking like one of those fuzzy pictures of the Loch Ness Monster.

You have to hike down a dirt road to get to the cove, and I was a little worried about hiking back up, but I was okay. It's only about 1/4 mile. The tunnel:

The cove:

We found out later that this cove was used to haul in lumber when the highway was being built. It's also home to huge kelp forest, which would explain why the sea otters like it.

Highway 1

2005-09-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

Another highlight of our trip (scroll down for the beginning of this story) was driving back via Highway 1, one of the most stunning drives anywhere. We were stopped for a while because of roadwork, which happens pretty often because of constant landslides (a side effect of building a road on a cliff). But who cares, when the view is this stunning:

One for Katherine

2005-09-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture I took at Hearst Castle that is "very Katherine"

Hearst Castle

2005-09-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

On our trip, we also visited Hearst Castle, where we took a tour of the grounds and a smaller bungalow that Hearst lived in. It's really an amazing place. My favorite things are the pools. The outdoor pool:

The indoor pool:

The views aren't bad either:

But Erick really liked the wine cellar:

Cambria II

2005-09-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

One morning I went for a walk before Erick woke up. The fog had burned off when I left the room, but had returned by the time I got back. It was so nice to be out there with the cool breeze blowing, listening to the ocean and watching the pelicans.

Cambria

2005-09-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some pictures we took on our trip to Cambria. As many drawbacks as there are to living in California (housing prices, traffic, crazy pace of life), the Pacific ocean makes up for a heck of a lot. My mom very generously gave us two nights in the Moonstone Landing hotel in Cambria. And not just any room, the room with the best view and with a jacuzzi tub and fireplace! It was really nice to have one last getaway before we have the baby.

The sunset as seen from our hotel room.

Another view from our room, after the morning fog burned off

Gun-toting hosers

2005-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here's Erick and Chris getting ready to go shootin'. Erick got his gun, a Smith and Wesson .357, a few weeks ago, and this was the first time he got to shoot it.
Chris is a former Marine, so he is very concious about gun safety and also instructed Erick in proper cleaning of weapons.

Of course we are going to be very careful about how we store this gun, especially with a baby on the way. Even when I look at the gun with a lock through the barrel and completely unloaded, it makes me nervous. But it is a nice weapon.
Erick especially enjoyed the fact that the barrel smoked a little after a few shots were fired.
Chris has a Luger, in case you're curious.

NOT barefoot...

2005-09-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

But very pregnant.
Here you go, Katherine!

Still here

2005-09-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here and doing fine. I'm planning on posting some pictures soon of our trip to Cambria (a small town on the Central Coast, near Hearst Castle).
Katherine has requested a picture of my pregnant belly from the side, and I have some of those, so I plan to post that too.
We've been really busy doing work on our house, and even though I can't help with any of it, it seems to be taking up lots of time. We're redoing both bedrooms in our 2 bedroom house, and one of them is almost done, just needing to be painted. We're going to switch our bedroom with our current office, and our current room will become the baby's room. Make sense? Good.
We've picked out colors for both our bedroom and the baby's room, so hopefully we can paint soon.
My Dad has been doing this for us, which is great, as he is THE BEST contractor ever, and therefore knows exactly what he is doing, and also because I get to see him more. He lives about 2 hours north of us.
Anyway, so I plan on posting some pictures of all the remodeling as well.
In other news, Erick recently purchased a handgun, and he finally got to go shooting with his friend Chris this weekend. I have a gun-toting picture of them, also.
That's all for now, but be looking for lots of pictures in the next few days.

Lileks

2005-08-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

I just have to say, I love James Lileks. Where else can you read about Krispy Kreme donuts, lovely father-daughter interactions, bad 70's movies, wifi headaches, and 1930's radio shows (with actual clips!), all in one article?
Always brightens my day.

Honestly!

2005-08-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

What are people thinking sometimes?
My friends are planning my baby shower, and I've been getting all of the addresses together. This requires careful navigation of everyone's feelings, because if I miss someone, it will cause hurt feelings or anger that could linger for months, if not years. I'm trying to make sure I remember everyone, but I'm sure there's someone I've overlooked.
And even though I'm not planning the shower, people feel compelled to ask me all of the questions about it, instead of calling the phone number that is so conveniently on their invitation.
What is it about these kind of things that causes everyone to take everything personally? Is it just the fact that so many women are involved?
So the funniest one was someone who claims their invitation says to RSVP by August 8th. Now, the invitations were sent on August 22nd. It is obviously a typo. However, this person asked (very politely and in a concerned voice) if it was still okay for them to come?
Well, gee, unless you have some access to the time-space continuum that the rest of us lack, YESOFCOURSEIT'SOKAY!!!!!
The frustrating thing is the myriad of assumptions that may or may not have been made. Instead of just saying, "oh, this must be a mistake," they may be thinking:

I was an afterthought, and got my invitation after everyone else.
These people are so rude to expect that I would RSVP before I got the invitation.
I think I'll call Sami and make a big deal about this instead of just ignoring it.

I must add that I am very VERY thankful for everyone who is planning this, and who is coming. What a blessing to have all of these people care so much, and buy so many great things for the baby.
I just wish certain people could use a little more common sense.

UPDATE: Feeble Knees just posted about her baby shower, which was a surprise party. Now I'm starting to think that wouldn't have been such a bad idea. I know, I know, I INSISTED on mine not being one. Also? I really like this.

Littering for God!

2005-08-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Jon had an interesting post about an encounter at a Christian book store in which a guy told him the NIV translation is the "devil's bible".
This brought up all of the distaste I have for Christian book stores in general. I had to ask myself, why do I feel this way? I used to really like going to Berean (wow, they're online!). I remember being a new christian (and very young) and buying a bunch of tracts there. A friend and I actually took some of them down to the creek and put them on trees in an area we knew homeless people hung out. Littering for God!
It's so embarassing to think about now. I guess our rationale was "the word of God never comes back void", but I think we were awfully silly.
Anyway, we used to love going to Berean, spending hours looking through the CDs and buying special covers for our Bibles and books that simplisticly explained why evolution is wrong (WRONG!) and the earth is only a few thousand years old.
The last time I went there, about a year ago, I just wanted to get Erick a new compact Bible for his birthday. I was shocked that there was hardly anything under 80 bucks. I was also amused by the huge displays of books about why the DaVinci Code is wrong (WRONG!). "Buy this book and have ammunition when you talk to your non-beleiving friends!"
It just seemed, I don't know, so irrelevant. Is that the kind of Christian community Jesus had in mind? Somehow I don't think so.
Plus, there were all of these flowery decorations with scriptures in them, and Thomas Kinkade knockoff paintings, and Christian recipe books...
Just, bleaah.
Maybe I'm too jaded now, but I burned out on all that stuff. I guess after 14 years of being a Christian, and working at a Christian school for a couple of years, I got tired of the Christian ghetto mindset, where all your friends are Christians, and you only listen to Christian music, and only read Christian books.
And the Christian bookstore symbolizes that for me.

From email--Great tip!

2005-08-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Tip of the day:

Always keep several get well cards on the mantle......
so if unexpected guests arrive,
they'll think you've been sick
and unable to clean.

I like it. Though maybe being pregnant is enough of an excuse right now.

Comment spam

2005-08-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is new for me, though I've seen lots of complaints from other bloggers about it. I don't get that many comments, so I was surprised to find a giant long comment about some company's stock:
St0ck For Your Review - FCPG
and on it goes for pages.

So annoying! I have no idea what to do to stop this. Anyone have suggestions?

George W. Bush conspiracy

2005-08-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just found this George W. Bush conspiracy generator. You can choose your own elements or generate it randomly.

Here's mine:

George W. Bush rigged the 2000 election so that big corporations, the Jews, oil companies, and Republicans could kill minorities.

Wow, swear I've heard someone actually say that.
My only complaint is they don't have the Saudi royal family, Haliburton or Enron as possible conspirators.

Thanks to Dizzy Girl for the link.

First haircut

2005-08-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

I got to give my nephew Wyatt his first haircut the other day! He's just over 1yr old, and he did really well. Here are some pictures.

Such a handsome guy!